Foxworth Looks Back
Portland Opera presents
‘Fidelio,’ a score that pays
tribute to freedom, fidelity
and the human spirit
See Arts & Entertainment, page A7
‘City of Roses’
Established in 1970
Blacks, Youth Drive Vote
Barack Obama was the over­
whelming choice of the one in 10
voters who went to the polls for
their first time Tuesday — a ra­
cially diverse group of mostly
twentysomethings. One in five
of the new voters was black,
almost twice the proportion of
blacks among voters overall.
Another one in five of the new
voters was Hispanic.
ODh server
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • November 5, 2008
Obama Wins!
First black president elected
(AP) — Barack Obama was
elected the nation's first black
president Tuesday night in a his­
toric triumph that overcame racial
barriers as old as America itself.
The son of a black father from
Kenya and a white mother from
Kansas, the Democratic senator
from Illinois sealed his victory by
defeating Republican Sen. John
McCain in a string of wins in hard-
fought battleground states —
Ohio, Florida, Virginiaand Iowa.
A huge crowd in Grant Park in
Chicago erupted in jubilation at
the news of Obama's victory.
Some wept.
McCain called to concede de­
feat — and the end of his own 10-
year quest for the White House.
Obama and his running mate,
Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware,
will take their oaths of office as
president and vice president on
Jan. 20,2009.
As the 44th president, Obama
will move into the Oval Office as
leader of a country that is almost
certainly in recession, and fight­
ing two long wars, one in Iraq, the
other in Afghanistan.
The popular vote was close,
but not the count in the Electoral
College, where it mattered most.
There, O bam a's audacious
decision to contest McCain in
states that hadn't gone Demo­
cratic in years paid rich dividends.
Obama has said his first order
of presidential business will be to
tackle the economy. He has also
pledged to withdraw most U.S.
combat troops from Iraq within 16
months.
Fellow Democrats rode his
coattails to larger majorities in
both houses of Congress. They
defeated incumbent Republicans
and won open seats by turn.
The 47-year-old Illinois sena­
tor was little known just four years
ago. A widely praised speech at
the Democratic National Conven­
tion, delivered when he was
merely acandidate for the Senate,
changed that.
Obama’s Grandmother Dies
Barack Obama's
g ra n d m o th e r,
whose person­
ality and bear­
ing
sh ap ed
much of the life
of the Democratic presidential
contender, died one day before
the election. Madelyn Payne
Dunham was 86. Last month.
Obama took a break from cam­
paigning and flew to Hawaii to
be with Dunham as her health
declined.
Catholics, Muslims Talk
Scholars launched their first
Catholic-Muslim Forum on Tues­
day. The three-day meeting in
Vatican City comes two years
after Pope Benedict angered the
Muslim world with a speech im­
plying Islam was violent and ir­
rational. In response, 138 Mus­
lim scholars invited Christian
churches to a new dialogue to
foster mutual respect through a
better understanding of each
other's beliefs.
Phillies Celebrate Series Win
Success-starved Philadelphia
celebrated its first professional
sports championship in a quar­
ter-century on Friday, shower­
ing the Phillies World Series
baseball champs with confetti,
brotherly love and screaming
cheers.
Gasoline Prices Falling
The Oregon statewide average
for regular unleaded dropped 29
cents this week to $2.57, while
the national average declined 24
cents to $2.39. Both averages are
at their lowest level since late
February 2007, according to
AAA Oregon.
FCC Looks at Cable Prices
The Federal Communications
Commission has opened an in­
vestigation into the pricing poli­
cies of major cable operators,
including Comcast and Verizon
Communications. The agency
wants to ensure the companies'
customers are getting treated
fairly.
Autism in Rainy Areas
Children who live in the wettest
counties of Oregon, W ashing­
ton andCalifomiaare more likely
to have autism, but it is unclear
why, researchers reported on
Tuesday.
Driver's License Tests Fall
The number of Spanish speak­
ers taking the test for an Oregon
driver's license has plummeted
since requirements took effect
last year that require verification
of Social Security numbers. Gov.
Ted Kulongoski ordered the
changes, which bar i I legal immi­
grants from getting a license.
Snow Hits Ski Areas
A significant amount of snow
fell on Mount Hood Monday
and with more snow in the fore­
cast ski areas hope to open in
time for Thanksgiving.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-lll., was elected president Tuesday, becoming the first African American or any person of color to win
the nation's highest office.
continued
on page A2
Vote is One for the Ages
Folks take delays in
stride as history is made
(AP) - Lines stretched around
buildings and crossed city blocks
as people waited tocast ballots in
the historic presidential race be­
tween Barack Obama and John
McCain. Touchscreen voting ma­
chines malfunctioned in some
precincts, yet voting Tuesday
appeared to go smoothly overall.
The biggest trouble was big
crowds. But folks seemed to take
it in stride.
"People are happy and smil­
ing," Sen. Benjamifi Cardin said
as he voted a, a Maryland school.
"People are very anxious to be
voting. They really think they are
part of history, and they are."
In the East, electronic machine
glitches forced some New Jersey
voters to cast paper ballots. In
New York, eager voters started
lining up before dawn, prompting
erroneous reports that some pre­
cincts weren't opening on time.
In the West, Californians also
faced long lines, but voting went
smoothly. In Orange County,
south of Los Angeles, about 400
people were on hand to treat prob­
lems with the county's all-elec­
tronic voting system, said Brett
Rowley of the registrar's office.
"We've got paper ballots as a
backup," he said.
Heavy rain plunged a handful
o f Los Angeles polling places
into the dark, forcing some to
move voting fxwiths outside until
electricity was restored. Voting
didn’t stop.
Election officials predicted
turnout rates as high as 80 per­
cent in California, the country’s
m ost populous state and the
holder of the most electoral votes.
People wait in line to vote on election day at a polling station in Washington, D.C. (AP photo)
In Virginia, State Board of Elec­ state and country officials braced end or three hours at the back
tions executive secretary Nancy for a huge turnout in that hotly en d ," jo k e d v o ter R onald
Rodrigues said she expected 75 contested state. More than 160 Marshall.
Hundreds converged on poll-
percent of the state's registered people were lined up when the
ing
precincts in Missouri, another
polls
opened
at
First
Presbyte­
voters to cast ballots.
PennsylvaniaGov. Ed Rendell rian Church in Allentown. "I could
continued
on page A2
urged voters to "hang in there" as stay an hour and a hall at the front
•^ c o m m u n ity s e r v ic e
I
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See story, page A3
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Volume XXXVIII, Number 43
T1Week in
The Review
Homegrown top cop retires
after a tumultuous
27-year career
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